I've been
lucky enough to be able to review a variety of excellent preamplifiers during the
last few years, from the more affordable to the quite extravagant. As with the Allnic H-7000 vacuum tube phono preamplifier, as reviewed here,
I'm hoping
that these different types of phono preamplifiers that I've reviewed might help
some audiophiles make a decision as to which phono preamp might be best for
their system's analog set-up. Since not everyone is looking to purchase a new
phono preamp, I also hope that audiophiles and maybe even a few non-audiophiles
(or soon to be audiophiles), have found that these reviews fun to read!

The Allnic H-7000 reviewed here is a rather large, impressive looking tube
phono preamp. Its milled aluminum," open topography chassis" has a cabinet with
no top plate, a marvelous array of tube chimneys, anodized transformer casings,
and top-mounted moving coil step-up transformers with Permalloy cores that can
provide enough gain for just about any MC phono cartridge.

Besides being almost 17" wide, a little more than a foot deep,
and almost 7" high, this hefty phono preamp weighs about 35 pounds! But that's
not all – it also has an outboard power supply – it isn't nearly as large
(or heavy) as the main unit, but it does weigh 18 pounds and is big enough for
one to need a decent sized space for it on an adjacent shelf or on the floor
near the main phono stage, and one has to keep the power supply relatively
accessible because on its front panel is its on/off switch. At times there have
been some components I liked to keep powered 24/7, but never with a tube
component, and I wasn't about to start doing that with this phono preamp.

Allnic, The CompanyAllnic Audio Labs is a South Korean high-end equipment company
founded in 1990 by Kang Su Park. Before this, he worked extensively on
transformer-coupled and single-ended-triode tube designs, but with over 34 years
of experience, he says he had begun working "with the intention of matching and,
indeed, exceeding the heights achieved by any tube amp companies, and had not
failed in these goals". Although the company started with tube amps, they now
produce a variety of audio products, including phono stages and head amps, MC
phono cartridges, headphone amplifiers, cables, DACs, and speakers.

TransformerThe Allnic H-7000 is an all transformer-coupled, LCR tube
phono stage. For its main amplification it uses four pentode E810F/7788 preamp
tubes used in triode mode, and it uses two 7233 and two 5654 tubes as voltage
regulators. The power supply unit comes with a 5U4G rectifier. This is a review
of Allnic Audio Lab's H-7000 phono preamp, but it is also available as the H-7000V, the difference between the two is that the "V" model has the ability to
vary the equalization to accommodate recording made prior to the RIAA standard.
Audiophiles who spin very old mono recordings, or 78 rpm records might want to
consider this model. I should mention that since I could only obtain photos of
the H-7000V, those are the photos that appear in this review! Thankfully, the
differences in appearance are only slight.

This component is one of the most serious phono preamplifiers
I've ever had in my system, and so to make sure I'd be getting the most out of
it I was lucky enough I was able to procure a phono cartridge worthy of its high
performance. My friends at Texas' Believe
High Fidelity let me borrow a fabulous Top
Wing cartridge that goes by both its Japanese and English names, Suzaku and
Red Sparrow. This amazing phono cartridge might have specifications that read as
"normal" as any other top-flight phono cartridge, but its superb construction
and performance make these specifications practically meaningless. Since this is
a review of the Allnic H-7000 and not the Red Sparrow, I'll stop here, but safe
to say that a phono cartridge that costs as much as this phono preamplifier that
it was connected to better ought to be pretty damn good. It is.

The Red Sparrow was mounted on my reference Tri-Planar 6
tonearm, which was recently calibrated by someone other than myself to make sure
that it was affixed to my Basis Debut V's armboard at precisely measured points.
The tonearm has an integral cable that is terminated in unbalanced Cardas RCAs,
and so I connected to one of the H-7000's RCA Moving Coil (MC) inputs.

The Allnic phono preamp was connected to a tube based Nagra
Classic Preamp linestage, which fed into a Pass Laboratories X250.8 250 watt per
channel solid-state power amplifier. The power amp fed a pair of Sound Lab
Majestic 545 electrostatic speakers. The speakers' low end was reinforced by a
pair of SVSound SB-16-Ultra subwoofers. The cables in the system were all made
by Kimber
Kable, which
I reviewed last month, including Carbon 8 interconnects, Carbon 18 XL
speaker cables, and Ascent power cables. All the front-end gear, including the
Allnic H-7000 phono preamp, plus the electrostats' transformers got their AC
power from a Goal Zero Yeti 400 battery power supply. The power amplifier used a
Goal Zero Yeti 1000 battery power supply, but only during daylight hours. After
6pm the power amp was plugged directly into the AC wall receptacle. On the walls
of the listening room are acoustic treatment panels (and filled LP shelves), and
the room has two separate power AC power lines that run directly to our home's
electrical panel in the basement.

On the rear of the H-7000 are two pairs of unbalanced RCA
Moving Coil (MC) and two pairs of unbalanced RCA Moving Magnet inputs. There is
a pair of unbalanced RCAs, and a pair of balanced XLR outputs. And, of course, a
ground terminal. I connected the unbalanced RCA cables coming from the tonearm
to the MC inputs, and used the balanced XLR outputs to connect to the Nagra
Classic Preamp linestage.

On the Allnic H-7000's front panel is a rotary control which
one can select between the four inputs. This phono stage is also very flexible,
and for each MC input one can choose whether or not to use its on-board step-up
transformers. The Allnic manual makes it relatively easy to set up its gain and
loading settings which might end up a seemingly infinite number of choices. In
the manual it explains that each channel's MC transformer on has gain factors of
+22dB, +26dB, +28dB and +32dB. So, combined with the H-7000's 40dB native gain,
for MC there is 62dB, 66dB, 68dB and 72dB of gain available. On the H-7000 model
there is a control to vary impedance, and the manual provides a chart indicating
the relationship of the settings on that control to those on the
step-transformers.

Thankfully, Allnic Audio set all the gain and loading options
beforehand, and so all I had to do was connect the tonearm's cables into the MC1
input, and I was ready to go. If one wishes to go it alone, the manual explains
in detail the procedures one must follow. Lest I make this review much longer
than it needs to be, I'll skip those instructions and move on to more important
things about this phono preamp.

ListenSince this is a tube unit, I let it warm-up as long as I could
before starting to listen to records. But, to be honest, I never heard any
evidence of a non-warmed-up H-7000. The solid-state Pass power amp I was using
needed much longer to sound its best. Go figure. I'll cut to the chase. This is an incredible sounding phono
preamplifier. Ever since powering up the H-7000 for the first time, this phono
stage operated without complaint throughout the entire review period. One would
assume that a tube component would elicit some sort of sound, either from the
component itself or through the speakers during normal use. Nope. There was
never even the slightest hum, buzz, pop, hiss, or any noise, especially one that
would lead me to think anything was amiss.

One of the first things I noticed when first listening to the
H-7000 was that it had a very, very black background when playing records. By
that I don't mean a very black background for a tube unit. I mean a black
background for any phono preamp. (I realize that some readers now expect me to
quote the faux-rock documentary Spinal Tap, when guitarist Nigel
Tufnel attempts to rationalize the all-black cover of their new albums, "There's
something about this that's so black, it's like how much more black could this
be? And the answer is none. None more black".

One day during the audition period of the H-7000 I was
comparing a Japanese pressing of Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention's One
Size Fits All album to one of the new pressings issued by Mr. Zappa's estate
on Zappa Records. Even though I assume that the newer 180-gram pressing is
digitally mastered, I've found that with other digitally mastered albums that
the highly skilled engineers and mastering lab personnel have figured out to
make these records sound awfully good, and so it often makes little difference
which type of mastering sounds more musically satisfying overall. The Japanese
pressing has been my reference for many years, but it should be no surprise to
anyone that the reissue sounds better. When supervising this reissue, Frank's
wife Gail had access to the original master tape, and worked with some very
talented people.

And great this Zappa album did sound through the Allnic
H-7000 phono preamplifier. Of course, just as much credit should go to the front-end
that was feeding the phono preamp, because as they say, garbage in – garbage
out. But in this case, it should be clear that the opposite is true, that a fine
source will provide the next component in the chain with a fine sounding signal.
And so, the marvelous sounding Basis / Tri-Planar / Topwing turntable set-up had
lots to do with why this album sounded so good. This was true even before the
Allnic phono preamp showed up. I've been listening to this album through my
reference set-up for quite a while. But when I added the Allnic to the mix,
replacing my Pass Labs phono preamp, it made a huge improvement to the way it
sounded. I was again reminded that this phono preamp sounds amazing. Its
weighty, transparent sound was addicting, as I played as many records as I could
while preparing for this review.

It wasn't only the increased level of apparent detail that was
improved using the Allnic H-7000 phono preamplifier; it was that everything
sounded better! I'm not exaggerating. As far as its level of detail was
concerned, it sounded as if some sort of sonic contrast knob was turned slightly
to the right, and the dialed in just to the correct level, and let me hear
things that I never noticed before, such as details surrounding Frank's amazing
guitar solo from the track "Inca Roads", that starts off side one. This guitar
solo was recorded live in Helsinki, and then dropped into the studio multi-track
of the song. Could I hear any edits or other remnants of this edit? No. But I
could hear more clearly the ambience of the hall in which the guitar solo took
place, and how it differed from the studio's atmosphere in which the rest of the
backing instruments were recorded. And as for the sound of the rest of Zappa's
large band? Wow! The Allnic H-7000 was somehow able to ignore the limitations of
this multi-track technology, and bring me back to Zappa's studio circa 1975.

It was quite obvious that the Allnic's exceptionally black
background that had lots to do with this exceptional sound quality. But
certainly not all of the Allnic's improvements in the sound of my analog
playback chain could be due to this – it is simply an excellent phono
preamplifier, and has all the benefits of any audio component that is not
only designed exceptionally well, but also uses premium parts. The sheer
weightiness of the sound, this increase in the presence of the music that
somehow makes it sound more like it was mimicking the original event, an
accomplishment that only the best audio components can manage.

WishI don't wish to give anyone whiplash by changing the subject
too quickly, but bear with me for just a moment. I've been a Pink Floyd
fan since I don't remember when. But it was back around the time when I belonged
to a certain group of kids that would spend their afternoons listening to
records rather than being outdoors with the rest of the gang. After hearing the
requisite Dark Side Of The Moon, I quickly turned to listening to their
albums that came before that 1973 warhorse (I say warhorse with all due
respect). As I consider Pink Floyd's first album with Syd Barrett a different
band with the same name, I'll save that discussion for another time. Their
albums between their beginnings and when the hit superstardom are the albums
that spent lots and lots of time on my turntable. And they still do.

I consider Pink Floyd album Soundtrack From The Film
"More" that was released in 1969a creative high-point from that
era. As a youngster I pictured the band leisurely spending time in the studio
playing, writing music, relaxing, getting high, and just doing what they love
without ever calling it "work". I realize now that is hardly how they actually
recorded an album. And the results speak for themselves. As a bonus, the
recording quality on this album is superb, and in my opinion, so is the music!

One of my favorite vinyl copies of this album is the Japanese
pressing that was released in 1978. Even before the Allnic H7000 phono preamp
was in my system this album had proven itself to be a beautiful pressing, one of
the reasons for this is because the Japanese used 100% virgin vinyl, where
normally pressings were made with a 50/50 mix of virgin and recycled vinyl.
Added to this was the way their meticulous manufacturing methods produced a very
silent playing surface. This lack of surface noise makes everything else sound
better.

The Allnic phono preamp took full advantage of this excellent
pressing. I practically fell out of my listening seat when certain instruments
and sounds entered, even though I heard this album so many times before. This
was because of the way this phono preamp was able to extract every bit of
information from the signal the Topwing cartridge sent it, and then sent this
signal on to my preamp. It was a signal that excelled in macro and
microdynamics, frequency extension, and recreated the recording with a huge
soundstage filled with instruments that sounded scary-real, and the sound of music
filled the front portion of my listening room.

I realize that this Pink Floyd album is a multi-track
recording, and so it is not what some would like to call real instruments
recorded in a real space. But to me, they are real instruments, as I'm very
familiar with the sounds of instruments that make up a modern rock band. And it
is in a real space, most likely Abbey Road Studios. I'm convinced that the
Allnic H-7000 is the closest this album has ever come to mimicking the sound of
their master tape being played. While the album spun it was very easy to image
myself sitting in the control room listening to album being played back to the
band and their hangers on during the final mix. In fact, when I closed my eyes,
I thought I smelled a mix of cigarette smoke and hashish during the track "Cymbaline"
near the end of side one.

One of the most noticeable sonic traits of this album was not
only the way the Allnic H-7000 was able to separate each instrument and sound
into a discrete area in the huge soundstage, but the way it was able to take
advantage of this excellent pressing. Pink Floyd mixed this album in a very
different way than most rock bands of the time used to perform the task. They
took advantage of the recording medium, almost treating the studio as a fifth
member of the band. The method in which they mixed the drums on certain tracks,
lowering the level of the cymbals to almost zero, and then left room for other
sounds and instruments that had higher treble energy to occupy this space
instead. There are other times where, as in the track I mentioned previously, "Cymbaline",
where it is mixed completely different to how a band might sound if you were in
the same room, instead making the acoustic guitar and vocals the focus of one's
attention.

After a while, though, it came to me almost as an epiphany.
After only a short time it became clear that what I was hearing were not the
traits of the Allnic phono stage, but the musical selection I was playing. Even
though this appears to be a rather obvious fact, when I, and most reviewers
describe a component we use terms to describe the traits of it in audiophile
terms such as the prowess of its soundstage, frequency response, etc. Yes, the
Allnic has a character of its own, but when it came down to the point where I
had to describe the sound of the Allnic, this is when I started to realize that
I was simply describing the sound of the musical selection. If the recording
allowed my system to have a huge soundstage, I would hear a huge soundstage if
the album had extreme range of macro- and microdynamic shifts, such as the Pink
Floyd soundtrack, that's what I would hear. If the engineers compressed the heck
out of the recording, and it had a more in-your-face sound, such as the Mother's
album, that's what I would hear.

SpecialThe Allnic H-7000 is a very special audio component, one that
was able to bring me closer to the recordings I played through it. It would
somehow be able to dig into a phono cartridge's signal like no other phono
preamp I have heard in recent memory, and be able to pass on this signal with
the least amount of change to that signal, yet when amplifying that signal would
be able to render the most life-like sound I ever heard from the rest of my
system.

OtherThere was only one other phono preamp I've ever heard in my
system that could perform as well as the Allnic H-7000 and that was the nearly
twice the price Dan
D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Momentum Phono Stage Preamplifier that was
in my system for review about a year and a half ago. Since I didn't have it in
my system during the review period of the Allnic phono preamp, I will hold off
on any detailed comparisons. But if one feels like spending twice as much on a
phono preamplifier, be my guest. But to be honest, I don't remember being
anywhere near twice as impressed by the D'Agostino component as I am with the
Allnic. I am blown away by the performance of the Allnic H-7000 phono preamp
every time I play a record with it in my system. I feel as though the sound
couldn't be better, unless I upgrade one of the other components in the audio
chain in my system.

Another phono preamp I had in my system that one might
consider, rather than going for the Allnic phono pre is the Merrill
Audio Jens phono stage. Its price is almost identical to the Allnic. But the
Merrill Audio Jens phono stage is a solid-state unit. Like the D'Agostino, it
was not in my system for a direct comparison. In fact, I never formally reviewed
the Jens, but it was part of my system when I was able to borrow it for a short
time. I loved the time I spent with the Jens in my system. For reasons that many
audiophiles might agree with, an excellent match in my system seems to be to use
a high-powered solid-state power amplifier along with a tube linestage. It seems
that there is also a synergy between using a tubed phono preamplifiers along
with the tube linestage. But that's just my impression. Your mileage may vary.

RecommendThe Allnic H-7000 is a phono preamplifier that is easy to
recommend. I would have zero objections if one with the means to be able to
afford it considers this unit for inclusion within their high-end audio system.
As long as they first make a reasonable donation to their non-profit charity of
choice (and if they have trouble choosing one, please contact me for
suggestions), I highly recommend the Allnic H-7000H phono stage. There are no
changes I would recommend to its designer for improvement. Perhaps if I improved
my system, I would be able to hear something amiss. As of right now, there are
none. If I could afford to buy this phono preamp, I certainly would. I often
make recommendations, but those who trust my ears know I only occasionally make
the statement that I would do such a thing. If you end up purchasing an Allnic H-7000
phono preamplifier, I predict that you will thank me for recommending it,
that is, if one could find pull themselves away from their system long enough to
do so. Enjoy the music!